The annual celebration of NSW Seniors Week is the perfect time for the seniors in the Parkes Shire to shine! To acknowledge and celebrate seniors, Parkes Library is hosting an exhibition of artworks created by residents of Southern Cross from 18th March to 8th April. The art works were created during regular workshops held by Parkes Quota Club at Southern Cross where the residents get to explore their creative side. The art works they create
are displayed at the Village, brightening the rooms.

The workshops were made possible in part thanks to the Northparkes Community Investment Program. “Parkes Library is proud to host community art exhibitions and Seniors Week is the appropriate time of the year to show the wonderful talents of some of our seniors and highlight the amazing work Quota does in our community”, said Shellie Buckle, Manager Cultural Education & Library Services. This week also sees new librarian, Gillian Hunt beginning her career in Parkes after a move from Sydney. Gillian is being shown the ropes by Library Officer Maureen, who is retiring after almost 30 years of service. A morning tea is being held at the Parkes Library on 7th April for the community to raise a cuppa in recognition of the important role seniors play in the community. If you would like to attend, please contact the library on 6861 2309 or email library@parkes.nsw.gov.au

More than 2000 children in Calare will benefit from the Coalition Government’s National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education. Federal Member for Calare, the Hon John Cobb said $840 million in federal funding will be available for quality preschool programmes across the country, and that these benefits would be felt across Calare. “The agreement guarantees funding for 600 hours of quality preschool in the year before school, and includes a focus on lifting participation rates for children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds,” Mr Cobb said.

All states and territories including New South Wales have signed up to the National Partnership Agreement seeing the funding flow into local preschools. Mr Cobb said,” this funding will help the 2128 preschool children aged between four and five who are enrolled at local preschools in Calare get the best start in life.” The National Partnership funding is just one aspect of the Federal Government’s commitment to early childhood education.

The Coalition Government has committed to reforms worth $40 billion for early childhood education and care over the next four years, including more than $3 billion to ensure the system is more accessible, affordable and fairer for families. The funding is the single largest investment in early learning and child care that this country has ever seen, and guarantees support for 15 hours of quality preschool education a week for children in the year before school,”. Director of Parkes Bluebird Early Learning Centre, Rachel Westcott, said

“We are really excited for this funding as it will help us to continue to grow our preschool programmes and resources. Our aim is to provide a great foundation for our pre-schoolers who are going off to school next year.”

Last Friday the biennial Parkes Field Day event attracted 17 exhibitors and over 200 visitors from Parkes and out of town. The day, which is organised by the Chamber of Commerce, is purely for local businesses. James Haddin of the Parkes Chamber of Commerce and Manager of Bosmac said he experienced a higher enquiry rate from visitors and high sales. “It’s a day for all of us to come together in one place and saves people from driving all over town to
make enquiries,” he said; “Exhibitors generally feel it is worth taking part.”

James displayed the auger mate, which makes moving an auger around much easier, plus other rural equipment. Another farmer-focused exhibitor was Guy Webb, an Agronomist working with AgriWest. He had developed a product called Grainmaker which is a nutrition supplement for crops resulting in an increased yield and an improvement in soil health, particularly under a variety of climatic conditions. Guy, who spent ten years designing the product, encourages farmers to use it as part of their annual fertilization program.

Steve Beuzeville, Manager of Parkes Top Town Traders, displayed a range of generators, welders, air compressors and pumps for use on farms. He has been in Parkes for over ten years, and services any machinery he sells. Vance Unger, salesperson at Kinsela, was happy to show off a variety of quad bikes, bikes, farm bikes, ride-on mowers, push mowers, hedge trimmers and many more.

Another exhibitor was the 45-year-old business Parkes Décor which is the ideal place for lovers of renovation shows. Brooke Soeder and Alison Tatton, who were representing Parkes Décor, said these shows had been very good for business. Moving away from decorating on towards the outdoors, The Central West Lachlan Landcare and Parkes Shire Council exhibit focused on the newly constructed wetland area at PAC Park. Organisers were pleased with the attendance on the day and hope businesses who presented got some new interest.

By Maggi Barnard

Over 150 people turned up to the second Can Assist garage sale of the year to hunt for bargains. The Pavilions at the Parkes Showground were filled with furniture, household items, books and toys donated by locals. The ever popular lamingtons, 120 dozen baked by a local bakery, were snapped up quickly by hungry shoppers. Treasurer of Can Assist and organiser of the event, Adrianne Brown, said the sales of the day totalled $4500, which is a great boost for the fundraising efforts of the Parkes Branch.

The first garage sale of the year raised more than $6 000. Bev Walker, Publicity Officer of Can Assist, said the biggest rush was usually when the doors open at 8am with good pieces of furniture selling very well. Other popular items are books, household items like microwaves and toys. “You can fill a bag of toys for $2,” said Bev. “This is popular among grandparents who like having some toys for when the grandkids come to visit.” Another popular item is crockery which people who have a penchant for craft
hobbies, like mosaics, look for.

The garage sales, normally held during autumn and spring, form part of the Parkes branch’s ongoing fundraising efforts throughout the year. The money is used to help cancer patients and families with financial support
towards medication, travelling and accommodation expenses when they need to consult with specialists or receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy in Orange or Sydney.

The Parkes branch pays out up to $100,000 per year. Can Assist relies heavily on volunteer members for fundraising, “we always welcome new members,” said Bev. If you would like to get involved there is a meeting every second Tuesday of the month at the Neighbourhood Centre. Can Assist has over 50 branches in country NSW and provides direct support to local communities affected by cancer.

By Maggi Barnard

Easter is upon us once again and there are lots of egg-cellent events and offers on this year. From car checks to fish frying there’s something to please everyone this Easter, cracking! Easter is a holiday best spent enjoying quality time with your family and many people will travel long distances over the weekend to visit them. It’s important to
make sure your car is in tip top condition before heading out on a long journey this Easter.

Medlyn’s Auto Services on Route 90, Clarinda Street, specialise in car servicing for all makes and models including
commercial fleet vehicles. Their fully qualified log book servicing ensures your car is in safe hands and as a Repco Authorised Car Service centre Medlyn’s have a commitment to ensuring only the very best in car servicing and automotive care.

If you’re short on supplies this Easter, A.G. Souter is the place to go! They have a large selection of batteries including deep cycle for your camping or caravanning needs in stock. Souter’s also offer free battery testing for all your batteries. In store currently are a range of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies, perfect for Easter hunting weekends including reloading powders and projectiles, knives and spotlights as well as a selection of archery equipment. Special requirements? Souter’s are happy to order in any needs you have to help you wherever they can. Souter’s also offer car services, rego inspections and mechanical repairs including car air conditioning and electrical wiring. Call into the store at 8 Bogan Street, Parkes or call 6862 1733 to take advantage of their 20% discounted
Regular Car Services until the end of April!

Fish has traditionally been eaten at Easter by Christians since around the 2nd century. Christians abstained from eating meat on a Friday as a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, which is commemorated by people of this faith every year. Whether you intend to follow this tradition or if you just love all things that hail from the deep, Silver Bream Café will be stocked full of delicious seafood in the run up to Easter and beyond. Open from 6am Monday to Friday for those of us who need an early coffee kick, Silver Bream will be offering up seafood salads made to order, guaranteeing the freshest taste. The café has recently been taken over by new manager, Nathan, who has over 14 years’ experience as a professional chef. “We can cook fish battered, grilled or crumbed and will have various other seafood on offer including prawns, calamari and crab claws” he said. Not forgetting their icy cold milkshakes, perfect for a hot day! Come in and see the friendly team at Silver Bream at 315 Clarinda Street this Easter.

Local businesswoman and owner of La Bella Medispa, Rebecca Miller is a finalist in the Central West Orana Business
Awards to be announced on 6th May this year. Over a 21 year career as a beauty therapist, Rebecca’s passion for the skin industry and her drive to help empower women in business has given her a lot to smile about; “I work really hard at being a good leader and love sharing my knowledge with my staff and other women,” said Rebecca, who also won the Business Leader category of the Parkes Chamber of Commerce in October last year. “I could not have done
it without my magnificent team.”

Rebecca’s hard work was again rewarded when the La Bella team clinched the Dermaviduals Australian Clinic of the Year recently, beating 140 salons across the country. “The girls at La Bella Medispa go more than the extra mile with their skin analysis and full skin assessment consultations and treatment plans and for that we have been rewarded with this amazing prize,” Rebecca wrote in her blog on the business’ website.

Winning the Orana Business Award would boost Rebecca’s passion to not only continue her studies, but also be the best leader she could be. “My aim is that every client feels like the most important person in the world by giving her the best service.” Rebecca also plans to open salons in more locations, as well as expanding the Parkes one. She already has another salon in Orange with a total staff complement of 12 between the two.

Winners from each category in the Central West Orana Business Awards will proceed as finalists to the NSW Business Chamber State Awards. Rebecca is one of four finalists from Parkes. The Central West Orana Business Awards celebrate and recognize business excellence in the region.

By Maggi Barnard

Members of the Summer Reading Club of the Parkes Shire Library have had their noses stuck in books over the past two months. Reading Club members, mostly younger than 12 years, have read a total of 544 books and each received a certificate and goodie bag last Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the end of the Summer Reading Club with a cake decorated as a book.

The Library has held a reading club over the summer for a number of years. Inspired by work done with Macquarie University on best practice for learning and literacy development, members were asked to recreate a story they enjoyed inside a glass or plastic container. “The goal was to encourage borrowing, support reading as well as understanding, and comprehension of what was being read,” said Sandie Ward, Summer Reading Club President.

Each ‘story inside the glass’ went on display in a Library exhibition. To give members some inspiration, library staff recreated popular stories like The Girl and the Bicycle, Twinkle Twinkle, The Rainbow Fish and The Gingerbread Man inside a carafe, a fish bowl and a jam jar. At the event on Tuesday, some of the members explained what their “story inside the glass” was about, there were very creative representations of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Superman, Silky the cat and The 13-Storey Treehouse.

By Maggi Barnard